FCC Seeks Comment on Making Unassigned Licenses Available Without Auctions

The FCC opened a docket Thursday asking how it can make available unassigned licenses in its inventory absent general auction authority. Comments are due April 8, replies April 22, in docket 24-72. The notice comes on the one-year anniversary of the expiration of FCC auction authority. “We are now compelled to ask what we can do with our current unassigned spectrum in order to keep innovation moving ahead in a global market for wireless that is not slowing down,” said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel: “I remain hopeful that the FCC’s auction authority will be restored quickly. … The agency stands ready to work with lawmakers to ensure we don’t find ourselves in the same place next year.” Rosenworcel said last year the FCC would consider a remnants auction of returned and unsold spectrum licenses if its auction authority is restored (see 2307280046). The FCC has most often made contested spectrum available through auctions, said the notice by the Wireless Bureau. “The Commission now faces a unique and historic challenge of how to facilitate the deployment of advanced wireless services across the country without using auctions to resolve mutually exclusive applications,” the bureau said. The bureau said it’s “compelled to explore how its existing regulatory tools could be used to provide the public with access to spectrum that would otherwise lie fallow.” The notice asks specifically about three alternatives for providing access: dynamic spectrum sharing techniques, nonexclusive site-based licensing and leasing inventory licenses. “We seek comment on each approach, as well as combinations of approaches … and any other methods that could be used to make Inventory Spectrum available to the public,” said the bureau.